85 Iowa 346 | Iowa | 1892
A wooden structure ninety-two feet in length, and about twelve feet in height, made by nailing boards to ^upright pieces of timber, and known as a ‘ ‘bill-board,” fell upon the plaintiff while she was on a sidewalk in a street of the defendant, inflicting the injuries for which she seeks to recover! The bill-board was wholly in the ’ street between the sidewalk and the lots, about three feet from the latter* and half that distance from the former. There was evidence which tended to show that the bill-board was constructed several years before the accident; that it was not properly constructed; that some of its timbers had decayed; and that it was unsafe, and had been in. that condition so long that the defendant should be charged with knowledge of the fact that it was unsafe before the accident occurred.
I. One of the defenses pleaded is that the action is barred by the statute applicable to such cases, for the reason that the accident occurred more than six -months before the action was brought, and no notice
In McArthur v. Saginaw, 25 N. W. Rep. (Mich.) 313, cited by the appellee, it was held that the liability of the city for injuries suffered in its streets was statutory, and was confined to such defects as arose from their being out of repair, and it did not cover objects forming no part of the streets, and not affecting their condition as ways kept in repair. It was also held that it was not necessary for the city to keep the full width of a street open for travel, and that where a sufficient portion of it was kept in proper condition for use the city was not liable for damages resulting to the driver of a horse from lumber piled at the side. In Hixon v. Lowell, 13 Gray, 59, it was held that the city was not liable for injury to a pedestrian on a sidewalk which it was required to keep in repair, caused by ice and snow which fell from an overhanging roof. In Macomber v. Taunton, 100 Mass. 255, it was held that the city was not liable for injuries which were caused by a hitching post which
it is the duty of a city to keep its streets open and in repair, and free from nuisance. Code sec. 527. It is also its duty to maintain its sidewalks in a reasonably safe condition. Thomas v. Town of Brooklyn, 58 Iowa, 438, 440; Beazan v. Mason City, 58 Iowa, 233. This duty extends, not merely to the surface of the street' or walk, but to those things within its control which endanger the safety of those using the street or walk properly. It may not be the duty of a city to open to public travel a given street to its full width, and it may not be its duty to construct a sidewalk thereon; but when it has assumed that obligation, it should make the street and the walk reasonably safe for the uses for which they are intended. A “defect” is defined to be a want or ‘ ‘ absence of something necessary for completeness or perfection.” Webster’s dictionary. It also includes the idea of a fault or want of perfection. In the statutory sense a ■ street or sidewalk is defective when it is not in a reasonably safe condition for the use for which it is intended. That condition may be due to improper construction, to poor materials, or other causes. It may be due to the presence of something which is a menace to the safety of the users of the way, as well as to imperfect construction or the absence of needed labor or material. In Drake v. Lowell, 13 Metc. (Mass.) 292, the city was held to be liable for damage caused by the fall of an awning which extended over the sidewalk, although the walk under the awning was in good condition. The statutory liability of the defendant in that case was much like that of the defendant in this. In Jones v. Boston, 104 Mass. 75, the case last cited and other eases were reviewed, and it was said that a danger from the inse
In our opinion, the action is barred by the statute, and judgment must be rendered in favor of defendant. Reversed.